My mission to save $100,000 on my honeymoon with points and miles – Part One: Hotels

After my wife and I got married in January, we embarked on a seven-month honeymoon that took us to eleven countries. We stayed in 51 hotels (not counting three Airbnbs) and took 27 flights, five of which were in business class and one of which was in first class.

Luckily, as with many weddings, there was lots of spending, which also meant there were lots of miles to use over the course of the trip. From the beginning, I had a goal in mind. I wanted to save $100,000 on my honeymoon by using points and miles. While $100,000 was an arbitrary, if round, number, we definitely would not have been able to travel the way we did had we only been paying cash. The cash rates for the business class routes we took were absurdly high and we simply don’t make enough to pay a cash rate for an overwater villa at the W Maldives. Using miles and points on our honeymoon allowed us to travel more comfortably and for longer than if we had only paid out of pocket.

So, how did we do? Did we hit the $100,000 goal of honeymoon savings?

W Maldives, Five Nights, 382,000 Bonvoy Points, $15,808 Total Cash Rate

As already mentioned, because I wanted to visit the Maldives, using points was a no-brainer. We shelled out 382,000 Bonvoy points to stay at the W Maldives. We were upgraded to a Spectacular Overwater Villa on the quiet side of the hotel, away from where the seaplanes take off and land, which was key.

The cash rate for this redemption was $15,808, so this was far and away the most we saved on any hotel redemption during our trip. Of course, the miles couldn’t get me out of paying for the seaplane to and from the resort, which set us back $1,200 altogether. Food was also incredibly expensive there, but luckily, we found a way around that. Although the hotel no longer offers an all-you-can-eat package, we were able to save thousands of dollars on food. You can read how here.

Alila Fort Bishangarh, Four Nights, 72,000 Hyatt Points, $1,928 Total Cash Rate

This was one of those special hotels, a stay that truly sticks with you. When we arrived from the Jaipur airport, a dusty, two-hour affair, we were greeted by a duo of musicians, dressed in vibrant Rajasthani garb playing some sort of violin type instrument with ankle bells, singing traditional welcome songs. Music plays a big part in the experience at the Alila Fort Bishangarh – a quartet comes every night to sing on the terrace as the sun sets and then again on the roof during dinner, which is held under the stars. I discovered new treats at every meal like bottle gourd halwa and the flavor of mustard oil. The staff was phenomenal, taking us on tours of the property and driving us safely to and from attractions like the Sariska Tiger Reserve and a tour of Jaipur’s forts, always making sure that we had enough water to drink and enough to snack on for the road. We would have paid a cash rate for this hotel because I’m a real sucker for the Alila, but when award space opened up, I snatched it and saved nearly $2,000.

The Diwa Club by Alila Goa, Four Nights, 60,000 Hyatt Points, $1,748 Total Cash Rate

While Alila’s second India location, in Goa, isn’t as magical as the Alila Fort Bishangarh, it really grew on me, especially when I discovered the piña colada machine by the swimming pool. The Diwa Club is a hotel inside a hotel, and a little fancier than the regular Alila Diwa Goa. There are a couple of benefits like free afternoon chai snacks, an exclusive pool and a sundowner hour.

ITC Kohenur, Five Nights, 97,500 Bonvoy Points, $2,980 Total Cash Rate

One of my favorite things about the Marriott Bonvoy program is that they have all of the ITC hotels in India under their umbrella. You earn points on them (for cash rates) and can benefit from your Bonvoy elite status (their breakfasts are legendary). Another plus is that the point rates are outrageously cheap. Five nights at the ITC Kohenur in Hyderabad set us back just 97,500 Bonvoy points and would have cost $2,980 had we paid out of pocket.

ITC Kakatiya, Two Nights, 25,000 Bonvoy Points, $330 Total Cash Rate

The Kakatiya was ITC’s first hotel and it’s beginning to show some wear around the edges, especially compared to the Kohenur, one of the brand’s newest offerings. Still, at 12,500 points per night, which would have otherwise run us $330, it was a good enough option for a couple of nights when the Kohenur was fully booked.

ITC Grand Goa, One Night, 35,000 Bonvoy Points (Free Night Certificate), $576 Total Cash Rate

While using points for a long stay is a no-brainer to save bucketloads, points are also great for plugging gaps in itineraries when the cash option for your desired hotel is a bit high. We planned to stay at the Alila Goa for five nights in a row but the third night was unavailable at a points rate. The closest hotel was the ITC Goa Grand, so we stayed there for one night before returning to the Alila. The cash right for one night would have been $576, which seemed absurd for a night so we cashed in a free night certificate worth 35,000 points.

While I love the ITC the Goa location is also bit dated though the gardens are immaculate and the beach provides miles of white sand to walk down. Overall though, we were glad we didn’t burn any cash on the stay.

The Bottom Line

On the hotel side of things, we saved $23,370 by using a total of 671,500 points. This breaks down to a value of $.0348 per point – not bad!

The Chase Sapphire Preferred card was particularly helpful in accruing points. With Chase, you can transfer your points to both Marriott Bonvoy and World of Hyatt, meaning that any of these hotels would be soon within your reach with the 75,000 sign-up bonus that Chase is offering at the moment.

Check in tomorrow to see how much we saved on flights and whether we hit that $100,000 mark!